Share:

Buzz Aldrin evacuated from South Pole for medical emergency

BOSTON (WHDH) - Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, one of the first men to walk on the moon in 1969, has been evacuated from a station on the Antarctic coast in the South Pole, according to the National Science Foundation.

The NSF, an independent federal agency supporting scientific research, announced Thursday morning that it agreed to provide a “humanitarian medical evacuation flight for an ailing visitor.”

The foundation manages the U.S. Antarctic Program, and said it received a request on Dec. 1 from White Desert, a tourist firm in the region. The NSF said Aldrin will be flown to New Zealand as soon as possible.

It is unclear what caused Aldrin to request emergency help.

Buzz Aldrin was part of the two-man lunar landing crew of Apollo 11, the first men to ever set foot on the Moon.

(Copyright (c) 2017 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)